Seal



Oct. 5 1926.

J. W. LESLIE ET AL SEAL Filed Dec. 6. 1922 'gms Patented Get. 5, l92.

UNITED STATES y Lauren PATENT OFFICE. y

JOHN W. LESLIE, OF EVANSTON, AND ROBERT I-I. FULTON, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNORS TO SIGNODE SYSTEM, INC., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ACORPORATION Ol DELAWARE.

SEAL.

Application led December 6, 1922. Serial -No. 605,163.

Our invention relates to a seal which` consists of a metal strip adaptedto be formed into a loop and to be secured in such manner that it cannotbe opened and reclosed except with the utmost diiiiculty, and with thecertainty that such violation of the seal will be apparent or readilydetect-able. Devices of this character are adapted to be employed for agreat variety of sealing purposes, as, for instance, in connection withcar doors, `other doors, cans, boxes, trunks, shipping cases, bags, etc.

VOur present invention provides a metal seal of new and uniqueconstruction,which 5 is adapted to be threaded through and upon itself.to form a loop and to be secured in such a manner that the loop closelyhugs the elements (for instance, the pin and lug of an ordinary form ofcar door fastener) through which the seal passes, and renderspractically inaccessible those port-ions of the seal to which accessmust be had by any person desiring to open and reclose the sea-l.

When properly applied inthe manner hereinafter set forth, the seal ofour invention comprises a free end of substantial length, which providesample space for such data as the seal number, initials of a Arailroadcompany or shipper, etc. Y j

Prior to being used, the seal of our invention is, or may be,substantially identical with the seal shown in co-pending application ofRobert H. Fulton, Serial No. 558,719, filed May 5, 1922. All patentablesubject matter common to this case and the aforesaidV co-pendingapplication will be claimed herein, the claims of said co-pend ingapplication being limited to features of improvement not shown orclaimed herein.

ln the accompanying drawings illustrating our invention Figure 1 is aview in perspectiveof thev seal of our invention as it appears before ithas been looped and crimped;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view in perspective, illustrating the reverseside f one end of the seal shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective of portions of awell-known type of car door fastener, this view illustrating ourimproved seal as it appears in the course of its application to such acar door fastener; Y

F igure l is a view in perspective .illustrating the seal of ourinvention, as it appears when finally applied to the car door fastener;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view partly in section, but illustrating inelevation those portions of the sealed joint which closely hug t-he doorfastener when the seal is applied as shown in Figure 4; Aand Figure 6 isa transverse section taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 5.

Similar characters of reference referto similar parts lthrough theseveral views.

The seal of our invention comprises an integral and preferably ductilemetal strip 11, which at one end is provided with lateral wings 12-12which have been turned away from the strip proper and toward each otheras is clearly illustrated in Figures l and 2. Two parallel slits 13-13are formed in the winged end of the strip and the web 14, which liesbetween these slits, is raised above the plane of the rest of the stripto permit and facilitate the formation of the sealed loop in the mannerpresently to be described.

lThat end of the metal strip which is to be threaded through the slits13-13 is conveniently pointed, as at 15, and apertured as at 16 toreceive a seal carrier. Ordinarily, the pointed end ofthe strip willhave eertain data, such as a seal number and initials e lithographed orimpressed thereon, as illustrated at 17. l

As seals of the type to which our invention relates are very commonlyused in connection with fasteners of the type employed in conjunctionwith railway car doors, we shall herein illustrate and describe theapplication of our improved seal to such a fastener. However, it is tobe understood that the use of our seal is in noV way restricted to cardoor fasteners.

In Figure 3 we have illustrated Certain portions ofV a well-known typeof car door fastener. In thisV figure, A indicates vthe fastener elementwhich is usually applied to the door frame, and B illustrates the haspwhich is usually carried by the door. The hasp B is provided at its freeend with a slot C to receive the horizontal lugD, which forms part ofelement A. Lug D is in turn provided with an opening E for thereception` of the lower end of the pin F. Pin F is provided with a slotG, which, when the?u pin is in its locking-position, registers with acorresponding slot .H in the fixed lug 1 which forms part of element A.lt is, of course, unnecessary'to illustrate the fastener in all of itsdetail, since our invention is not concerned with details of car doorfastener construction. rlhe speciiic type of car door fastener hereinillustrated is to be regarded as being merely representative of the manydifferent devices with which our improved seal may be employed.

In applyingthe seal of our invention to a fastener of the type shown inFigures 3 and 4, the pointed end of the seal is threaded through theslots G and H and is then passed through slots 13-13 and under web 14 toform a loop in which the extremities of the seal strip extend inopposite direc# tions, as distinguished from the ordinary car seal loopin which the extremities extend in the same direct-ion. The seal loop isdrawn tightly upv against the fastener elements F and I, and the seal isclosed by a distorting operation, which is preferably a crimpingoperation performed in accordance with the method of Flora U. S. PatentNo. 1,038,168, dated September 10, 1912, and is accomplished by means ofa sealing or crimping tool substantially like the tool shown anddescribed in Floral U. S. Patent No. 1,038,- 109.` dated September 10,1912.

In closing the seal by means of a device of the type shown in the Florapatent last above-mentioned, the jaws of the sealing tool are applied tothe lateral edges of the wing portion of the seal, the sealing toolservingv simultaneously to crimp that portion of theV vstrip whichpasses under web 11i into interlocking engagement with said web and withthe wings 12-12- The slots 13-13 deiine the points where the jawsof thesealingtool are to beapplied, and in a measure facilitate the crimpingoperation. Figures fl, 5, and 6 illustrate the seal as it appears afterthe performance ofthe crimping operation just described.

r he wings 12-12 materially strengthen the crimped joint in addition topermitting the inished joint to be of minimum width, notwithstanding thefactthat the slits 12B-13 are somewhat longer than the width of the sealportion which is passed therethrough.

ln applying the seal, the loop thereof is drawn tightly against thoseportions of the fastener vthrough which the seal passes. Consequently,the sealed joint hugs the fastener, with the crimped-'in portions of thewings and embraced metal inaccessible to anyone desiring to tamper withthe seal. This is a very important advantage afforded by the presentinvention. (Dur present seal also possesses the advantage that itaffords a long free end adaptedto carry the seal number, initials, orother suitable indicia. rlhe seal is cheapv to construct, may be readilyapplied to a fastener' or the like, and may be eifectively closed by asingle operation of the type of crimping tool hereinbefore mentioned.Other advantages of our improved seal will be apparent to personsfamiliar with the art to which our invention relates.

Having thus illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of ourinvention, we do not limit ourselves to the precise construction andarrangement of parts herein shown, and described, but wish to cover anyequivalentconstruction falling within the scope of the appended claims.

lllhat we claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is 1. A seal comprising a metal strip prof'ided atone endthereof with lateral wings, which together with said strip endconstitute a sleeve, there being a pair of transverse slits in theaforesaid end of the strip, the metal between said slits being offsetfrom tne adjacent metal and away from said wings.

2. A seal comprising a metal strip provided at one end with lat-eralwings, there being a pair of transverse slits formed in the winged endof said strip, the metal between said slits being ofi'set from theadjacent metal and away from said wings, said slits adapted to have theopposite'end of the strip passl therethrough.

3. A seal comprising a metal strip pro- .vided at one end with lateralwings, there being a pair of transverse slits formed in the 4winged endof said strip, said slits terminating short of the lateral edges of thesaid winged end of the strip the metal between said slits being turnedback wardly away from said wings, said wings being turned away froml theplane of the adjacent metal and toward each other. il. A seal comprisinga metal strip pointed at one end and provided at the other end with a.pair of lateral wings, a pair of -parallel transverse slits formed inthe winged end of the strip, said slits terminating short of the lateraledges of said winged end and being adapted to have the pointed end ofthe strip pass therethrough, the metal between said slits being pressedaway from the plane of the adjacent metal and away from saidl wings toprovide an oiset web, said. wings being turned away from the plane ofthe strip and toward each other substantially as and for the purposesetgforth.

5. A seal comprising a metal strip pron vided at one end with lateralwings, there being a pair of transverse slits formed in the winged endof said strip', said slits being adapted to have the other end of thestrip pass therethrough, the `metal between said slitsbeing pressed awayfromthe plane ofthe 'acrljaceiit metal and away from said wings vtoprovide an offset web'.

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6. A met-al strip provided at one end with a pair of transverse slits,the other end of the strip being passed through said slits to form aloop wherein the strip ends extend in opposite directions, that end ofthe strip which is provided with the slits as aforesaid being providedwith lateral .wings which are turned away from the adjacent metal andtoward each other, that portion of the metal of the winged end of thestrip which lies between said slits being crimped into interlockingengagement with said wings and with the metal which entends through andbetween said slits.

7. In combination with a pair of juxtaposed members forming part of afastener, a seal strip passing through said members, saidseal stripbeing provided at one end with a pair of transverse slits, the other endof the strip being drawn through said slits to provideV a loop whichclosely hugs said fastener members, and wherein the strip ends extend inopposite directions, the metal between said slits being crimped edgewiseinto interlocking engagement with the strip metal which extends throughand between said slits, the inwardly crimped edges of the metal lyingclosely adjacent the fastener members hugged by the seal loop.

8. In combination with a pair of juxtaposed members forming parts of'afastener, a seal strip passing through said members, said seal stripbeing provided at one end with lateral wings and transverse slits whichterminate short of the lateral edges of said winged end, the other endof ther strip4 being passed through said slits to form a loop whichclosely hugs the fastener members aforesaid, the strip ends extending inopposite directions, said wings being turned inwardly toward theinterior of the loop and toward each other, said wings, the web betweensaid slits, and the metal which extends through and between said slitsbeing crimped simultaneously edgewise into inter'- locking relation.

9. A seal comprising a metal strip provided at one end thereof withlateral wings which are turned away from the adjacent meta-l and towardeach other, there being a pair of transverse slits in the aforesaid endof the strip, the metal between said slits being offset from theadjacent metal and away from said wings.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this lst day ofDecember, 1922.

JOHN WV. LESLIE. ROBERT H. FULTON.

